First let me say that I went to bed as soon as the Chargers kicker missed the game winner. I did not stay up for a single second of the overtime session, so please do not think that my post is directed at OT.
During the game, did anyone else notice that the refs were consistently giving the Saints a little bit better spot than where the guy went down/out of bounds…and they were consistently giving the Chargers a little worse spot? There were a couple of big ones that I saw for instance where a 1st down was possibly achieved by the Chargers, but the refs would spot it like a damn yard short. Continuing with the Chargers side, there were times they were 1 yard short of the 1st down (or something like that), and the ball would be spotted 2 yards or more short. And the same thing was happening in the opposite way for the Saints. It was weird to watch in real time.
Not really related, but I remember a couple years ago, the Saints had a 4th and 1 where Brees basically jumped up over the line, extended the ball forward, and then pulled it back. The refs gave the Saints the first down because Brees got the ball across the line… but he pulled it back, so isn’t that just like if a receiver runs backwards? He didn’t get tackled back, he pulled the ball back himself (so the defense couldn’t grab it).
Since I remember it, I’m guessing it happened against the Lions… which figures. I do think the Saints (or at least Brees) are on the NFL’s Christmas card list, kind of like the Packers, if you know what I mean.